GENEVA (Reuters) - Climate change is making it harder for
many people to access clean water and food, and widening the
spread of malaria and dengue fever, the world's largest
humanitarian aid agency said on Monday.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC) is asking donors for $292 million per year for
2008 and 2009 to help communities steel themselves for the
threats of global warming.

"Response alone is no longer enough," said Markku Niskala,
secretary-general of the Swiss-based federation. Health care
and disaster management make up 75 percent of the appeal.

The 186 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies
around the world pledged at a strategy-setting conference in
November to boost aid to those most vulnerable to the effects
of climate change, a phenomenon scientists have linked to
emissions from cars, factories and power plants.

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They also agreed to step up disaster preparedness and risk
reduction programs, especially for small island states, in
delta regions and across Africa, where shifting patterns of
weather, rainfall and temperature are expected to be most
acute.